Director of Performance Creative

Avenue Z is the AI-first agency - a digital marketing and PR company engineered to move fast. Brands partner with us to drive revenue and reputation across all channels, from ChatGPT to The Wall Street Journal, Shopify to TikTok, Meta to Google. Trusted by leaders in consumer brands, tech, and finance, we power the earned, owned, and performance media channels driving influence .

Overview
The Director of Performance Creative is responsible for the strategic vision and implementation of execution processes of paid media creative, affiliate content, and ad campaign initiatives across a portfolio of client accounts. This role is built for a visionary leader who can architect the frameworks, systems, and standards that define how great creative performance gets built — and scaled — at Avenue Z.

You will set the strategic direction for performance creative across the agency, defining the methodologies, testing frameworks, and AI-powered production workflows that enable our teams to consistently deliver scroll-stopping, results-driven work. You'll partner with senior leadership across paid media, affiliate, and design to ensure creative strategy is deeply embedded in every client engagement — and you'll build the operational infrastructure that makes excellence repeatable.

Responsibilities

Define and own the agency's overarching performance creative strategy, establishing the frameworks, standards, and methodologies that guide creative development across all client accounts

Build and maintain a forward-looking creative intelligence system — translating performance data, competitive research, and emerging trends into actionable creative direction for internal teams

Develop agency-wide creative testing frameworks and roadmaps that establish best practices for creative testing across paid media channels

Serve as the ultimate creative authority and strategic resource for client escalations, high-stakes pitches, and new business opportunities

Champion a culture of creative excellence and data-driven decision-making across all teams

Affiliate Campaign Management

Establish the agency's affiliate and UGC creative strategy, defining the standards for creator identification, briefing, performance optimization, and paid amplification

Develop scalable frameworks for affiliate campaign execution — from talent selection criteria and brief structures to deliverable standards and creative feedback methodology

Build systems for content library management and cross-campaign asset utilization to maximize creator content value

Partner with leadership to develop and refine contract structures, usage rights standards, and creator relationship best practices

AI-Powered Creative Scaling

Lead the agency's AI creative strategy — identifying, evaluating, and integrating emerging AI tools that elevate creative output, accelerate production, and scale performance

Design and implement AI-assisted creative workflows that set the production standard across the agency, balancing quality with speed and volume

Establish governance and best practices for AI use in creative production, ensuring consistency, brand safety, and compliance across all client work

Serve as internal thought leader and subject matter expert on AI's evolving role in performance creative

Team Operations & Miscellaneous

Partner with department heads to ensure creative strategy is aligned with paid media, affiliate, and CRO teams across all client engagements

Represent the creative strategy practice in senior client relationships, quarterly business reviews, and new business presentations

Lead cross-functional brainstorms and creative strategy sessions, bringing agency-wide thinking to the discipline

Qualifications

5+ years of relevant experience in creative strategy, performance marketing, or an agency environment

At least 2 years of client-facing experience delivering on creative goals through the full ideation, production, and review process

Proficient in analyzing paid media platform data and translating insights into actionable creative direction

Experienced with affiliate and UGC campaign management, including creator briefing, negotiation, and performance feedback

Comfortable using tools such as Meta Ads Manager and creative analysis tools like Motion, Asana, Slack, Claude, and AI creative tools

Solid understanding of creative testing methodologies

Familiar with creator briefing and content production

Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a sharp eye for brand voice

Strong client-facing presence — confident presenting work and creative rationale to both internal teams and clients

Organized, proactive, and able to manage multiple creative workflows simultaneously

Bonus: client experience in health & wellness, beauty, e-commerce, retail, or apparel

Compensation

Job Type: Full-time Employee

Schedule: Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 6 PM EST

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